Three-point seat belts for motor vehicles occur generally and comprise essentially a strap which crosses the lower abdomen of the wearer and a strap which runs diagonally across the chest and rib-cage of the wearer. On one side of the wearer, the two straps have a common anchorage point is a region which is oriented beside the hip of the wearer. On the other side of the wearer, the straps display different anchorage points, and the abdomen, or lap strap has, on this side, a lower anchorage point, which is placed beside the other hip of the wearer, and the chest strap a higher anchorage point which is placed just above the wearer's shoulder. When a person using the belt is of average or greater height, the chest strap runs diagonally from the upper anchorage point across the shoulder and chest and down towards the hip, to the common anchorage point. However, problems arise when the wearer of the belt is of short stature. In this situation, the chest strap shows a marked tendency to lie across the wearer's neck and, if the wearer is of extremely short stature, the chest strap may even mask across the wearer's face.
The above-outlined problems have been previously solved by a number of different prior art means. One has been to arrange the upper anchorage point at a block which is slidably journalled in a vertically anchored guide, the block being securable in a number of different vertical positions in the guide. Hereby, the orientation of the chest strap--when the belt wearer is of short stature--has been arranged such that the upper anchorage point is quite simply lowered. Swedish Printed Application No. 7111066-2 discloses a further solution which entails that the chest and abdomen straps are, at their ends towards the common anchorage point, passed through an elongate sleeve which, thus, brings together the chest and abdomen straps to a common point of intersection at such a position on the body of the wearer that the chest strap assumes a position entailing that the straps does not cross the neck region of the wearer.
These prior art solutions have proved to suffer from a number of drawsbacks. For example, the prior art solution in which a slidably journalled block is journalled in is guide a expensive in its manufacture and mounting in a vehicle, and is, moreover, extremely restricted in its scope of use. The solution employing an elongate sleeve through which the chest and abdomen straps are jointly passed is not adjustable and, hence, unsuitable, since the belt might be used by wearers of different heights.